Yamato



The 閻魔刀: Yamato (閻魔刀：大和) is Vergil's trademark dark-forged blade appearing in Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 3, and Devil May Cry 4. It is a legendary sword that was once wielded by his father, The Dark Knight Sparda. , and was left to Vergil as a keepsake.

Description
Yamato is a with ornate bronze guard; the exact details of how it looks change throughout the series. In the first Devil May Cry the Tsuka (柄) has the traditional gold wrapping, with black ornaments, and the Tsuba (鍔) is octagonal. In later installments, the guard is oval, and the tsuka-ito seems to be braided from white and black material. The blade features several intricate ornaments, most notable is a relief of a dragon at the endpoint of the hilt.

The scabbard is black, made of traditional lacquered wood, and features several metallic ornaments on its far end. In Devil May Cry 3 it also features a yellow sageo, the cord rarely used to tie the katana to the waist.

Despite having a scabbard, the Yamato is rarely worn on the waist—Vergil and Dante carry it in their hands, Nero carries it sheathed in his Devil Bringer, and Sparda carries it strapped to his back.

Powers
Although Yamato resembles a Japanese Tachi, it is said to be able to cut through anything as it is even sharper than a Tachi and is imbued with tremendous magic. In fact, this is the only thing shown to be capable of damaging the otherwise invulnerable Devil Bringer.

Similar to the Sword of Sparda before it, Yamato was used to seal a pathway to the Demon World. In the game Devil May Cry 4, the pathway, the Hell Gate, is later reopened, but then reclosed and completely demolished by Dante, who used the katana to destroy it.

Before Devil May Cry 3
Yamato once belonged to Vergil's father, Sparda, and according to the Order of the Sword, it was used to seal the "true Hell Gate". It was eventually given to Vergil as a memento, and he used it as his primary weapon.

Devil May Cry 3
Vergil uses Yamato as his primary weapon while attempting to reactivate the Temen-ni-gru. When his attempt fails, Vergil falls into the Demon World along with Yamato, and what happened to the blade immediately afterwards is unclear.

Devil May Cry 4
At some point after Vergil fell into the Demon World, the Yamato was found, broken, by the Order of the Sword. It is kept in Agnus's Containment Room within Fortuna Castle, but is restored and taken by Nero when his dormant powers as an heir to Sparda emerge, and thereafter, Nero is able to use the sword while in Devil Trigger. However, it is taken back from him by Sanctus when he is absorbed into the Savior, and is then used by Agnus to reopen the Hell Gate. After slaying Agnus, Dante retrieves the Yamato from the gate seal, and then destroys the gate with the blade. Thereafter, he wields it while in his Dark Slayer Style. While fighting the Savior, Dante uses it to free Nero, and gives it back to him. At the end of the game, Dante charges Nero with keeping it.

Dark Slayer Style
The Yamato is intimately linked to Vergil's signature Dark Slayer Style, which he uses in Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition and which Dante homages in Devil May Cry 4. As a warrior fallen from grace, Vergil can use the power of darkness to obtain new weapons and skills by levelling the style, and it interacts with his Yamato, Summoned Swords, Beowulf, and Force Edge. The style itself performs much like Dante's Trickster Style. In Devil May Cry 4, Dante obtains this style after receiving Yamato, but instead of being based on teleportation, it allows Dante to imitate Vergil's skills with the Yamato.

Devil May Cry
In Devil May Cry, the Yamato replaces the Alastor for Dante's "Legendary Dark Knight" costume. It behaves exactly the same as the Alastor, even to the point that Sparda carries it on his back when not in use and wields it as a broadsword rather than using the Iaido technique.

Devil May Cry 3
Vergil is the only character to use Yamato in Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition. When Vergil fights with Yamato, he uses both the scabbard and the blade in the Iaido style. When the Force Edge is equipped, Vergil fights with the Force Edge in place of the Yamato's scabbard. For Vergil's "Corrupt Vergil" or "Super Corrupt Vergil" costumes, the Yamato transforms into Nelo Angelo's zweihänder when in Devil Trigger. This may also be related to how the Yamato was broken between Devil May Cry 3 and Devil May Cry 4.

Devil May Cry 4
Both Dante and Nero wield Yamato in Devil May Cry 4. Nero's use of Yamato is limited to when he is in Devil Trigger, and even then he only has a few attacks with it. While in Devil Trigger, Yamato also grants Nero the ability to use Summoned Swords. In contrast to Vergil and Dante's use of the Iaido technique, Nero wields the Yamato without the scabbard.

When Dante obtains Yamato, he gains access to Vergil's signature Dark Slayer Style.

Background
(大和) is a Japanese term referring to the people and traditional nationalistic spirit of Japan, and in the past to the nation itself. Thus, it is appropriate as the name of the weapon symbolizing Vergil's aesthetic and commitment to tradition and power, as opposed to Dante's personality of resistance symbolized by the Rebellion.

The 閻魔 in 閻魔刀 can also refer to the judge of the afterlife,, and 刀 may also be read as とう. Thus, 閻魔刀 can technically be read as "Yamatō".

Trivia

 * In Devil May Cry 4. Dante is shown with both the Yamato and its scabbard as he destroys the Hell gate, despite the scabbard not being seen to be retrieved by Nero, or carried by Sanctus or Agnus. When he returns the Yamato to Nero, the scabbard disappears once more until Nero offers to return it.
 * When the Yamato is used within cutscenes, the injuries it causes never become apparent until the sword is resheathed, at which point the target splinters into pieces.
 * The pattern on the hilt of Yamato is similar with the marks of Nero's Devil Bringer.
 * Among all the weapons in the series, the Yamato has the second-highest number of known wielders: (Sparda, Vergil, Agnus, Nero, Sanctus and Dante). It is right below the Sparda, and the two blades commonly share five wielders.